


The Soldier in Winter

by Stillunravishedbride



Series: To Drive the Cold Winter Away [2]
Category: Captain America, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics), the winter soldier - Fandom
Genre: A little angst, Bucky Barnes' beard, Class five mutant, F/M, Fluff, Fun, Hints of the X-men, Marvel Infinity Wars, Multi, OT3, Sexual Tension, Smut, Soft core lumberjack, Steve Rogers' beard - Freeform, Sweat, Telepathy, Wood Chopping, hard core lumberjack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-06 23:52:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12221508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stillunravishedbride/pseuds/Stillunravishedbride
Summary: A oneshot inspired by Steve and Bucky's beards, post Civil War. An experiment to see what it would be like to begin an OT3 in the MCU given the men's old timey backgrounds. Fun and fluff. Some Winter Soldier angst. Smut. And, woodchopping.





	The Soldier in Winter

 

 

 

 

"Buck."

 

It felt strange opening the door to his oldest friend as if he were some neighbour come to call. And it felt equally strange for Bucky to stand there in the cold, rapping his knuckles like a beggar at the door of this small, isolated cabin in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. Choosing to ignore the awkward feelings both men embraced, relieved to be together again. The snow was still falling and small flecks settled gently upon their broad shoulders.

 

Danae looked on, gripping the chilly doorframe into her body which had been warmed not only from the fire Steve had built, but by the heat his body had left on hers. Indeed, he'd peeled himself off her only moments before answering the door.

 

Bucky Barnes grinned darkly when he caught sight of the woman he had scented before he ever even saw her. Indeed, an unmistakable aroma permeated both the cabin and the body of his best friend; a scent he rarely had the opportunity to enjoy. It forced him to suppress a smirk. "Hi, there."

 

"Hello," Danae replied cautiously. "You were the Winter Soldier." It wasn't a question.

 

Steve nodded slightly. "Bucky, this is Danae."

 

"Hi, Danae," Bucky said softly.

 

She pressed her lips together, surprised by the jolt of attraction hitting her hard even though she thought herself satiated from a full day of lovemaking. This man was not quite as tall as Steve, his beard not as thick. But it was darker and heavier than a mere veil of five o'clock shadow, black flecks sharp and striking against light, alabaster skin. His eyes were even bluer than Steve's, his stature thicker and more rugged. The two men stood side by side considering her, Steve curious at the look upon her face as she beheld his best friend for the first time.

 

"Can I get you something to drink, Bucky?" she finally asked, her voice hoarse though she didn't know why.

 

He smiled fully now, white teeth bright against the darkness of his beard. "Sure. Anything will do." And Steve brought him to sit by the fire while she hurried to make them hot chocolate in the small kitchen. _Something to warm him up. It got real cold out there today._

 

Murmurs from the living room reached her ears while she heated up the stove and she caught a few mentions of Thanos, Shield, and herself, the class five mutant. Though she could read minds, Danae allowed them their privacy. She knew Steve must be telling Bucky about her, sharing all he knew, which was not everything even though by now he knew her body better than anyone walking this earth. But she was certain he would not speak of that. Suddenly, she felt painfully aware of the smallness of the cabin, the inevitable intimacy of their living situation, and the fact that it could all end at any given time. Whenever Shield issued the call. Whenever Thanos finally reached the earth.

 

These were dark days.

 

Steve always managed to keep her warm. Sometimes, it seemed as if his crackling fires and the fortress of his body were all that stood between her and the cold, the future a frigid wilderness as vast as the Arctic tundra outside. Before he had come to this safe house, she had thought herself content in her solitude. It had been a relief to get away from her family, to live in the knowledge that she no longer posed a danger to them. But Steve's coming had forced her to face the future in more concrete terms, to confront a destiny she could not control. The only reason she could bear it, the only source of solace she could find, lay in his body.

 

He sought his own solace in her body as well, and now in the eyes of his friend who, by some miracle, had made his way to them safely from far-off Wakanda. Bucky had undertaken the journey in the utmost secrecy and now this would be his home, too. Not knowing how long the three of them would live together in this forsaken place, he took to it quickly. Solitude was his new preference in a life utterly unlike his youth in Brooklyn and it was all very peaceful. Conversation was kept to a minimum though no one know why and Steve found himself struggling to find ways to take his daily intimacy with Danae in such close quarters. Once or twice, he even drew her out into the woods. Making love in the cold forest was a new experience. It gave them both a wild rush and they could not be certain whether Bucky knew, or perhaps even followed them on occasion. The man who was once the Winter Soldier kept his mind closed to her and she made a point of not looking too deep.

 

But Danae could indeed read Bucky's mind, for it was not as stubborn as Steve's. He may have lacked his friend's mental shield, but the man was no fool. He was well aware of what was going on between Steve and this strange woman from the start, knew it the moment he'd scented her on the body of his best friend. And she, in turn, could read Bucky's own desire. His yearning held traces of raw sadness. And loss. It made her grieve for him. By now, she had little doubt that she had fallen in love with Steve but her feelings for his friend fostered a curious sort of intimacy as well. Past histories furrowed through his broken mind day in and day out and Danae read them all. It led her to conclude that despite everything, Bucky was a good man. But he was a man who bore his sins upon his shoulder, a man who could never set them down. A man who could not imagine relief from his burdens.

 

A man who would never be free.

 

Steve saw it all and knew his pain. At his bequest, she took the time to carefully wipe away every last vestige of the control mechanism Hydra had imposed upon the mind of Bucky Barnes. The readings were slow, intimate, and came at a high price. Keeping careful track of her power reserves, they agreed she ought to proceed cautiously and complete the task over the course of a week for it would take up most of her energy during the daylight hours. Before they began, Bucky begged her to put him in restraints so that he couldn't harm her.

 

" _What?"_ she had asked, incredulous. "You don't think Steve and I can handle you?"

 

"You ain't seen the Soldier before," he grumbled in that soft, sinister voice of his. "I won't put you in danger."

 

Danae tapped her foot impatiently. Bucky Barnes had been restrained against his will too many times in his life. She never wanted it to it happen again. "I'm a class five mutant, Sergeant. And I never tie up a man unless he's naked."

 

Steve blushed so badly he had to turn his back to them both.

 

"So if you want me to restrain you," she continued, undaunted. "You'll have to take off your clothes." Bucky's jaw dropped while Steve's eyes bulged out. "Look, Steve," she cackled and pointed. "I think I got a laugh out of him."

 

Bucky snorted to conceal the rumbling sensation deep down in his chest. _Am I laughing?_  For the life of him, he couldn't remember the last time it had happened.

 

When night came, he let them have the bed and settled himself on the couch. Steve kissed her sorrows away each night, all the grief she carried from her journey into the Winter Soldier's tortured mind. His thick beard brushed over her body, scratching and soothing her at the same time and leaving countless tiny red welts in its wake, all evidence of his passion. She would notice them later at odd times like when she took a shower or rolled up her sleeves to do the dishes. The unexpected sight provoked sparks deep within her, turned her mind towards more sensual matters and it became, for the three of them, a strange, nearly claustrophobic existence of unspoken desire and longing.

 

Once, she caught Bucky changing his clothes in the living room. His nude, muscular torso hypnotized her, held her stock still while he peeled off his shirt and she could finally see the smooth, creamy skin of his arm and chest, brown nipples so much darker than Steve's. When he turned abruptly to stare back at her, his curious expression made her mouth water and she wondered at herself. He met her eyes and gave her a dark grin, as if acknowledging some secret between them. But then he turned away. He had done enough bad things in his life and so he'd let Steve have her, this beauty who had freed his mind from Hydra, who had taken him in from the cold, who had hugged him once with a body so soft and feminine, it made him feel like a starving man.

 

Inevitably, Steve began to notice. It was in the way she'd look upon his best friend and clutch some object to her body, whether a book or the arm of a chair, or even the doorframe. Some days the men would go outside to chop wood. She would wrap the duvet over her shoulders and head out carrying hot chocolate, seating herself on a log to watch. Their bodies never seemed to tire, and their masculine strength fascinated her. The rugged way they'd swing their heavily muscled arms to heave the axe up in the air and bring it crashing down upon the wood inspired yearnings she had never known, fervent longings she could neither quell nor admit--not even to herself.

 

When Steve finally scented Bucky's desire for her, it sent him over the edge. Jealousy and rage washed over him, but not without a poignant streak of compassion. There was nothing he could do. He left them both and took a long walk in the woods by himself. Danae watched him go in tears. "I can't read him, Bucky. I . . . I don't understand what's wrong," she whispered, her heart breaking.

 

Bucky gazed down at her and tenderly wiped a tear off her cheek, stopping himself from wrappng her in his heavy embrace while she trembled. His voice sounded soft and smooth as satin. "Don't worry about him, doll. He'll be back soon. I promise. He can take care of himself."

 

"Will you stay with me?" she asked, sounding more vulnerable than she had intended.

 

"Sure," he smiled slightly, and they remained in the cabin together, silent, for the next few hours. It was their first real time alone together and she loved that, even if she did miss Steve. It had been nearly three weeks since Bucky's arrival and she knew now he was fully aware of everything going on between the two of them, had purposefully kept his distance when they went into the woods to make love, no matter how badly he yearned to follow. Had tried not to listen when Steve made love to her in their bed every night, though he always ended up beating himself off to their rhythm. He could never resist.

 

And his beard was growing thicker. Darker than Steve's but not quite as full, she imagined what it would feel like against her body, how the welts would redden her naked skin and she wondered if they'd appear identical to Steve's or if they would look different somehow. Guilt overcame her.

 

A few hours later, Steve returned.

 

"Steve!" Danae jumped out of her chair and ran to him. He opened his arms to embrace her roughly, planting kisses all over her face while staring hard at Bucky. "I . . . I love you, Danae," he whispered, running his fingers through her hair.

 

"I love you, too," she breathed, so happy she could cry. "I don't know what's going on. You know I can't read you."

 

"I know," he acknowledged, still looking at Bucky. "We'll talk later."

 

They ate a quiet dinner and as soon as they went to bed, he began to make eager love to her in a new way, hands and mouth caressing every part of her as slowly and as carefully as he could, as if she were fragile as glass. Wanting to be certain he possessed every inch of her, he took his time and lavished attention upon her. Although she couldn't say she did not enjoy it, it piqued her curiosity. When he finally pulled her on top of him and used his immense strength to raise her hips up over his own, he plunged her down upon his manhood with such force it made her come with a startling rush. He watched every moment of it, creamy skin blushing in ecstasy, mouth open, nipples swollen, and eyes tearing up. He held her there, drinking in her beauty until he could not stop himself and thrust up inside her. Danae clenched every spurt and pulse he issued into her body like it was a precious pearl meant for her alone. Gasping for breath, he finally allowed her to collapse down upon him, her full, heavy breasts resting soft upon his muscular chest, so slippery next to his sweat-soaked skin. She laid her cheek to rest upon his shoulder and nearly fell asleep.

 

"Danae," he began, gently rousing her now that his sense of physical urgency had finally waned. "I want to talk with you. About Bucky."

 

"Mmmm," she murmured. "I'm so tired, Steve. Are you worried he heard us?"

 

"Uh, I hadn't thought of that," he replied, concern and embarrassment overcoming him.

 

"He has," she traced her fingers through his beard, sounding resigned but enjoying the way his wiry hairs tickled. "Lots of times. Supersoldier hearing. He can smell it, too, of course. You might have figured that out by now. He's being very polite. He's a good man, even if he's been through hell."

 

"I know," Steve agreed appreciatively. It was rare for anyone else to know the truth about Bucky. _That's the advantage of loving a telepath. She understands._ "He is. Even if he doesn't think so. I know you can't read my mind, but . . . Bucky's all I got."

 

"You have _me_ now, Steve," Danae smiled softly, waking fully and raising her face to meet his. The room was dark, but she knew he could see her. "And lots of people who believe in you. Even if we're heading to . . . to the end of it all. I'm just grateful I'm going there with you. You make me glad to be alive. You know I love you, Nomad."

 

He grinned bitterly, his mind still on Bucky. "I just don't know what to do about him while we're living here like this."

 

"I know," she agreed. "Thanos is coming, but it feels like Bucky's our bigger concern. Isn't that funny? I think you should talk to him. About us."

 

"About us?" he asked, startled. "What do you mean? He already knows we're together."

 

"Yes," she agreed, suddenly very aware of being totally naked. These conversations always felt more honest and intimate when they were touching skin to skin. "But he's lonely. _Very_ lonely. And he's a good man. I care about him."

 

"You . . . care about him?" Steve repeated, uncertain.

 

"Yes. Does that make you jealous?" she asked gently. "You care about him, too."

 

"What are you getting at, Danae?" he demanded, sounding more vulnerable than he liked.

 

"Nothing," she shook her head. "You have to decide what _you_ want. It sounds like you haven't figured that out yet."

 

"I wonder what Bucky wants?" he asked, as if to himself.

 

She smiled and sighed. "To be with you. To have a real life. That's all."

 

He frowned, his stomach tingling nervously. "I think you're talking about more than that. Aren't you?"

 

"Maybe," she admitted. "You're holding us together, Steve. Don't forget that. You're everything to both of us. We both love you, in our way."

 

He gazed deeply into her eyes, looking hurt and hopeful at the same time.

 

She smiled. "Do you want me to say it again? I love you, Steve . . . Nomad . . . whatever you call yourself. Go and talk to Bucky. I'm here for both of you. Alright?" She brought her hands to his face, stroking his beard while he balanced her over his torso, feeling every curve of her nude body.

 

"Okay," he nodded, both scared and, once again, aroused. Jittery as the night before he was given the serum and Danae could feel him harden against her thigh, but she rolled off him. Taking it as his cue, he climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of track pants. He spared her a glance where she lay naked in their bed without a blanket, for his body heat always kept her warm long after he left the bed. She was so beautiful, her skin glowing softly, perhaps from the way his sweat mixed with hers upon its surface. But he left her and went into the living room.

 

"Buck."

 

Bucky lay upon the couch, arms folded behind his head, eyes wide open.

 

"Did you hear everything we said?" Steve continued.

 

The former Winter Soldier smiled ruefully and shrugged.

 

"She wanted me to talk to you," Steve took a seat by his feet on the opposite end of the couch. "What's goin' on?"

 

"Nothin'", Bucky demurred, shaking his head. "Nothin's goin' on." He paused. "Not unless you want it to." And Bucky suddenly admitted the truth to himself: _he_ wanted it to--but only if Steve did.

 

Realizing it at the same moment, Steve's voice sounded sharp. "Did she talk to you about us?"

 

"Didn't have to," Bucky shrugged again, helpless. This was new territory for him every bit as much as it was for Steve. He had heard of men sharing a woman before, though it was never anything he would have considered himself. It sounded like something desperate soldiers would do with prostitutes during the war to save a dime or to deal with the problem of the men outnumbering the women. And he'd never heard of it being done with love. Though he couldn't say he loved Danae, not yet, he loved the way she cared about Steve. It was in every move she made, every sparkle in her eye. And in the tender way she treated _him_ , the Winter Soldier, a man who didn't deserve love, a man who killed in cold blood and had taken innocent lives. But she never saw him that way and he knew it. It undid him every bit as much as the way Steve seated himself at his feet, the firelight dancing over his face, his expression half-hidden by the darkness of his bristly beard.

 

Steve took a deep breath and finally understood. Trembling, he tried to say it out loud. "Bucky . . . she wants, wants to be with . . ."

 

"She wants whatever you want, buddy," Bucky interrupted, saving him. "It's up to you."

 

"I . . . I want to know what _you_ want," Steve shook his head, shock and confusion temporarily shielding him from the truth. His heart felt like it might burst inside him.

 

"What I want doesn't matter," Bucky sighed and gave him a pain-filled smile. "It shouldn't."

 

"It does," Steve disagreed. "To me. And to her."

 

"Someone like me doesn't deserve to get what I want," Bucky retorted stubbornly and shook his head. "Not me."

 

"You know how I feel about you, Buck," Steve put his hands on his best friend's thigh and something broke inside him. He couldn't stand to have Bucky deny his own worth--not after everything he'd done to get him back. Finally, he found the words. "You _belong_ with us. You belong here. _With_ us. If it makes you happy."

 

Danae came out of the bedroom now. She wore a plain white nightgown with nothing underneath. Although it concealed her skin, it could not hide the ample slope of her curves or look of the concern in her eyes. "Steve, are you alright?"

 

"Yeah," he nodded, his voice ragged.

 

She moved towards him and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him protectively. It brought him the comfort he needed, soft breasts pressing through the cotton fabric against his cheek though he was quick to observe Bucky. His eyes had darkened so Steve picked Danae up and took her in his lap. She reached over to gently squeeze Bucky's thigh. "It's alright, Bucky."

 

Swallowing his pain, Steve repeated the sentiment. "It is, Buck. It's alright."

 

Bucky gasped as Steve suddenly lifted Danae out of his lap and placed her quite deliberately in his own. He found himself wrapping his hands around her waist. "Bucky," she whispered, biting her lip, eyes imploring. "Tell me you want this. Tell _us_."

 

He took a few breaths. "I want what Steve wants."

 

Danae turned to Steve once again and gazed at him compassionately. "Do you want this?"

 

Gasping for air, he nodded and swallowed. It took another moment for him to form the word. "Yes."

 

Knowing how difficult this would be for him, Danae reached over and put her hand on Steve's face, running her fingers through his beard. "I love you," she breathed again and pulled his lips towards hers, giving him what was probably the most sensual, loving kiss she had ever given anyone in her life.

 

Bucky watched from his front row seat, inhaling the scent of their shared passion fully. He could tell her body had already been taken by his best friend that night, that Steve had possessed her and drank in every part of her that he could. But Danae released his mouth and turned to face Bucky once again. With a tentative smile, she moved her mouth closer to his. Bucky parted his lips slightly and Danae took the opportunity to brush her lips over his. Once, twice, and suddenly Bucky's mouth parted wide, tempting her to gently slide her tongue between his lips and taste the front of his pearly white teeth. Before she knew it, he had taken her full tongue inside him, could feel her hips start to grind over his lap while Steve's hand snuck beneath her nightgown so he could plunge his fingers into her wetness.

 

Bucky grew harder than he had ever been in his life.

 

Danae rocked her hips and cried out, her tongue still captured by his mouth, and came for the second time that night, joy and ecstasy merging while Steve cupped her ass with one hand and helped her ride the waves of her aftershocks, one after another.

 

"Oh, god, doll," Bucky groaned as her face fell away, exhausted with terrible arousal.

 

Steve chuckled, feeling better about the way things were headed. _This feels so good. So right. It's not who we were or who we'd ever thought we'd be. But it's who we are now. The three of us. "_ If it's gonna go this way, maybe it'll be good for all of us, huh Buck?"

 

Bucky chuckled in return, the two of them supporting the languishing, erotic woman in between them. "Ain't never imagined anything could be this . . . amazing," he mused softly, stroking her hair. "Look at you, sweetheart. You must feel like the cat's pajamas. Most beautiful thing I ever saw."

 

"Danae?" Steve asked suddenly, worried. He wouldn't let himself turn this into some kind of erotic game at her expense. "You alright with this?"

 

"More than alright," Danae smiled lazily and sighed, her skin radiant and glowing. "It's uh, just a double dose of supersoldier. Takes some getting used to."

 

The men looked at each other, unable to suppress their smirks. Still, Steve felt unwilling to rely on the ecstatic expression on her face. "You sure, Danae?"

 

Smiling, her eyes fell upon his thick beard. How it still glistened from when he had been loving her in the bedroom that night. She put a hand on each of their shoulders, Steve's completely bare and Bucky's hidden beneath the Henley he always slept in. "I liked that, Steve. I _really_ liked it. If it's OK with you, then it's fine by me. Because you care about Bucky. And I care about him, too." Danae put both arms around Bucky now, giving him his own embrace, kissing his bristly cheek and running her tongue gingerly up and down his beard until she felt a soft, exquisite ache deep inside her. She wanted more. He tasted so good and she loved the feel of his rough, dark hairs against her tongue so she whispered."I want you next. _Both of you_." For all the satisfaction Steve had given her and the sweetness she had drank from Bucky's lips, she had not been fulfilled the way she really wanted. Her body longed for them both, cried to be loved by both their bodies in the firelight.

 

With another groan, Bucky plunged his mouth upon hers, kissing her passionately until he was forced to come up for air. Steve watched, surprised by how much he enjoyed it, how it made him feel. Jealousy seemed to be the last thing on his mind. Bucky, however, had been given a distinct image in his own mind from Danae. _Whatever want you want, doll. "_ She wants us by the fire, Steve. On the floor."

 

Steve needed no further instruction. Sliding his body down to the rug, Bucky soon followed him with Danae in his lap. Growing harder than he had ever been in his life, Bucky watched as the woman he desired kissed and fondled another man who just happened to be the man he loved and trusted more than anyone in his life. Down upon the rug they descended, a tangle of arms and legs until Danae stopped and glanced over at Steve.

 

"Steve," she called, breathless. "I . . I want you, too. Please touch me."

 

And he could barely contain himself. Panting, Steve brought his hands to her hips and slowly lifted up her nightgown, pulling it off to reveal her nude body. Bucky gasped to see her this way for the very first time. "You're so beautiful, doll. So beautiful."

 

"She is, Buck. So beautiful. Sometimes, I can hardly stand it," Steve admitted with a terrible honesty.

 

"Neither can I, pal. We got lucky. _Real_ lucky," Bucky nodded, an unexpected ache in his heart.

 

Steve began to kiss the glistening skin on Danae's bare back as the firelight flickered and danced upon it. Feeling like he was breaking the law or plumbing forbidden fruit, Bucky cupped one bare breast with his flesh hand, marveling at its exquisite softness. He soon took her other breast in his metal hand, catching her nipples between his index and forefingers, both flesh and metal. He squeezed and pulsed them in a light rhythm that made her cry out.

 

"She likes that, Buck," Steve growled. "Do it some more." But he had become so hard he wasn't sure he could stop himself, not with the way her ass was angled so close to his manhood. Pulling out his hardness from his pants, he glided perfectly into her slick, wet folds that immediately coated and enveloped him in her heat.

 

"Ohhh," she groaned, tightening all around him while Bucky stuck a thumb inside her mouth. She immediately began sucking on it while Steve took his pleasure from her, filling her with his hardness and warmth and setting a relentless rhythm that sped up until his hips were slapping up into the curves of her ass. Bucky found himself reaching his metal hand to stroke the small thatch of hair below her hips before reaching deeper. With a metal finger, he found her sensitive nub and tapped at it lightly, the cold startling her and making her come hard, Steve spilling his seed in her at very nearly the same moment. She collapsed backwards and Steve caught her, her breasts jutting upwards so beautifully that Bucky had to open his mouth and suckle each of them in turn while her ecstasy still thrummed deeply through her body.

 

Unable to form words after the intense anguish of his pleasure, Steve's lips trembled. But he clutched Danae's hips tighter and carefully slid out of her when he softened. Tilting her hips upwards as though offering her to his best friend, she relaxed her body more than she ever thought possible. Steve brought his hand to rub circles over her small thatch of hair, then gently spread her open, presenting her folds to Bucky as if beckoning him.

 

He didn't have to do it twice.

 

With one smart thrust, Bucky was inside her.

 

"This okay, sweetheart?" Steve found it in himself to ask as he watched his friend slickly enter the woman he loved with his abundant manhood.

 

Danae heaved, her full breasts jiggling over her ribcage. Bucky was thick, much thicker than Steve, and he was stretching her, filling her to such an awesome extent so that it took all of her concentration to receive him. Even so, she managed to breathe out a few words. _"_ _Yes . . . Yes. So good."_

 

Steve tilted her hips even higher, allowing her to rest her upper body completely upon his chest while Bucky took her again and again. He found himself eagerly watching, noting the shifting hues of her glowing skin and the dirty grunts of his best friend whose droplets of sweat splashed off his body and fell to the carpet as well as Danae's torso and all over her breasts. He knew then Bucky must have reached the heights of an ecstasy that matched or even bettered his own. When he had finally spent himself out, he collapsed upon her, resting his bristly face between her soft breasts.

 

"Bucky . . ." Danae moaned when it was over, arms reaching for him."Stay. Please."

 

And he frowned. But he remained inside of her, Steve laying beneath them both. They stayed this way for some time, the three of them, the fire flickering strange patterns over their faces and bodies, and over the whole of Danae's skin since she was fully nude. Bucky stroked her bare breasts, thumb over nipple, suckling every now and then while she trembled and cringed, every nerve in her body boasting a heightened sensitivity like some wanton, sensual creature. Steve stroked her cheek, checking in with her every few moments to make sure she was okay. She reassured him she was much better than okay.

 

"And how about the two of you?" she finally asked, trying to ignore the way Bucky kept stroking her breasts. It was terribly distracting, prevented her from forming any coherent thought. And Steve was already growing hard again; she could feel him just behind the soft roundness of her ass, his impossibly strong thighs hemming her hips in on both sides.

 

"I'm great," Bucky grinned. But he swallowed. "As long as you and Steve are happy, that is. 'Cause this might be the best thing that's ever happened to me."

 

Steve cleared his throat, suddenly shy. "I don't know. I never thought things could ever be this way, that we could ever do anything like this. But . . . I really like it."

 

"How much?" she asked softly.

 

"Too much," he admitted with chagrin, guilty in his confession. "More than I'd ever imagine."

 

"Hmm," she yawned, though she was still terribly aroused. "I don't know if I can ever get enough of this, of both of you. I love you, Steve. As long as you and Bucky are happy, I'm happy, too."

 

The three of them lay silent, Danae raising her hand to caress their faces every now and then until Steve grasped her hand in his. "I still can't believe we did this," he murmured, dumbfounded. It all seemed daring, sensual and sexy, and terribly wrong. _But it feels so right._

 

"Believe it," Bucky murmured back, kissing the side of Danae's breast. "After everything I've seen and done in this world, punk, to have three people happy together can't be such a bad thing, no matter what they'd say."

 

"Bucky, you know I care about you," Danae smiled, looking deep into Bucky's startled eyes. "I mean it. You make me feel so . . . alive. Both of you. I really want this, even if the world says it's not right. It doesn't matter; as long as we still have a world." She kissed both of them in turn.

 

In the weeks that followed, Bucky slowly came to believe her words, though it was still difficult to imagine that she could care for him the way she cared about Steve. He wasn't sure he'd ever really be able to feel love. If there was anyone in his life he could ever say he loved, it would be Steve. This new intimacy between the three of them was uncharted territory and he wasn't sure if he could ever call what he shared with Danae love. But he had never felt so good, never had such a pure experience of pleasure in a body that had been used only to cause pain for years on end. And Danae loved his body, loved the way it made her feel. Said, finally, that she loved him, too, and so he gradually allowed it.

 

If it was real for her, then maybe it could be real for him, too.

 

 

 

~

 

 

 

Weeks later, word finally came from Shield.

 

Thanos' fleet was nearing the earth. Steve was to take the Quinjet, meet them at the rendezvous point, and prepare for a last stand. He was to bring the class five with him.

 

Danae took his hand, ready to follow.

 

Bucky brought up the rear, ready to fight for those he loved.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this story, please comment. I am always glad to hear from my readers. Feedback is my fuel and writers need encouragement.
> 
> Thanks!


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